St Emilion was a monk here in this 12th century village with an under ground church dug from the earth. The small vineyards here still produce unique boutique wines every year. The monk healed folks, he baptized them in the stream that ran under his self imposed cell and he produced an abundance of bread for hungry people ( by hiding the loaves under his garments!)
A great day to the sand dunes of the Arcachon – the huge basin of tidal water between the rivers and the ocean here in the Bordeaux region of France. Then a driving tour of the 18th century city monuments of Bordeaux – a small stunning city. Tomorrow we drive the the Dordogne region to tour the painted caves of prehistoric times.
The newly open done museum in Bordeaux by he wet docks
Contemplative moment in historic center of Bordeaux
Chile
Ecuador
Peru
Argentina
Let us arrange for your stay in comfort at the most beautiful Hacienda Cusin, SachaJi or Las Palmeras Inn located only 90 minutes north of the city.
Visit the “middle of the world” the Quitsato foundation rebuilt this monument on the same site used by peoples centuries ago.
Design your days to explore the countryside, or consider your trip a retreat….
Artists find inspiration to write, sketch, paint, photograph in this land where Frederic Church visited in the 1850’s.
Suggested Itinerary:
From Quito Airport, Ecuador, the adventure begins. Live in style in the comfort of beautifully restored Hacienda Cusin in San Pablo de Lago, near Otavalo in the province of Imbabura.
Enjoy private tours local craftsmen’s studio homes.
Travel into the luscious Intag Cloud forest to stay at a retreat, El Refugio de Intag.
Choose to learn about the abundant unique flora and fauna
and hike thru soft green trails along the river
and explore with local naturalist guides
Always new views…
Michael and Ramelle Pulitzer
All activity levels welcome – Add On stays can be arranged: Galapagos Islands, Cuenca (southern Ecuador).
Trip costs: 8 nights – $2100 per person, double occupancy – includes transfers, hotels, most meals, English speaking guides.
(Does not include international airfare)
Travel to the Galapagos Islands! Cruises available for 3, 4 and 7 nights. Depart from Guayaquil or Quito. Prices vary depending on yacht. We suggest The Natural Paradise.
For more information contact:
Ramelle Pulitzer: ramelle@newviewtours.com
Photo by Marie Teresa Ponce
High Sierra Artist Tour – Ecuador
October 2016;
January 2017
Write, Sketch, Paint, Photograph, Yoga
From Quito. The adventure begins in comfort at Las Palmeras Inn, Quichinche.– on to the remote, luscious Intag Cloud Forest to retreat, birdwatch, hike, explore! We return through lush valleys to experience Sachaji Retreat Center, then to the most beautifully restored 1602 Hacienda Cusin in San Pablo de Lago, near Otavalo, home of largest market in SA. Hike or stroll!
10 nights – Land $2200 per person single;
$1770 shared occupancy.
Fly direct from JFK or Miami!
Castles & Caves of South West France
September 7 – 17, 2016;
Let’s Go Back! Lets visit the earliest creators works; the art of prehistoric times – we see the original caves and reproductions. We punctuate the experience with explorations of the earliest castle architecture. Start tour in Bordeaux, the most popular destination in 2015!.(NY Times) Cave exploration starts in Les Ezyzies with expert Christine Desdemaines Hugon. We orient at the Nat’l PreHistoric Museum of France, then off to explore Lascaux ll (lV may be completed this year), Font-de-Gaume; Rouffignac and Les Combrelles and Le Chauvet to the east. We visit castles of Beynac and Castlenaud, where English and French kings battled during the 100 Yrs.War on opposite sides of the Dordogne River. The views will be stunning! In Bordeaux, we include the Museum of Aquitaine & the Contemporary Art Museum; France. Carcassonne & Toulouse!
11 nights – Land $6500 single room $4700 shared
Download a flyerApril 21, 2016
First Hand Account – The First Day – Canoa, Ecuador
Good News & Bad News
How You Can Help!
Dear Friends and Travelers,
Since the 7.8 earthquake in Ecuador last week, the mild after shocks continue in the coastal region affected – the situation is evolving – as are the many reports.
Michael and I have heard from so many of you! Thank you for your concerns and thoughtfulness. We were not traveling there at the time, but want to relay what we have learned after days of monitoring stories, news reports and friends’ accounts on their travels.
The earthquake hit the northern coastal area of the country last week. The death toll, remarkably low due to the dispersed population here, has nonetheless risen to over 500; the casualties are more than 3,000 – with more to be discovered – hopefully. Of course, time is of the essence. While we await news of any more survivors, and hope injured victims have found their way to medical assistance…. the financial cost estimates keep rising in to the billions of dollars! Oh my.
Here is a first hand account from the coastal town of Canoa by Court Rand, in Ecuador working at Freedom Bike Rental. He wrote this to his father, Bob Rand of Northampton, New Hampshire who gave me permission to share with you.
Letter by Court Rand in Canoa Ecuador.
The good news:
Most of the country was not damaged in the high sierras, the rain forest, the southern cities of Cuenca and Loja or the capital city of Quito. The people and places we know and visit annually received no personal injuries and the buildings survived without damage from the wave-like rolling experience that took place. And our friends from Southern California, where earthquakes are a frequent experience, found that they were able to continue with their plans.
In every email we receive, the message is clear:
Please Continue with Your Plans to Visit Ecuador!
For example, owner of SachaJi, Maria Teresa Ponce, architect & yoga teacher writes:
“The main tourism areas here in Ecuador are fully operational, including main airports in Quito, Quayaquil, the Amazon Rainforest and the Galapagos Islands.”
And some people have found ways to really make a difference: providing safe shelter for the injured, preparing medical supplies kits to send out on motorcycles into the country side. See this ABC news report from Canoa where Court Rand is living. http://abcnews.go.com/International/video/ecuadors-canoa-beach-hotel-devastating-scene-deadly-earthquakes-38579492.
The bad news:
Maria Teresa continues: “The damage is severe and widespread in the poorest areas of the Pacific Coast. Thousands of people are in need of shelter. The need for help is enormous.”
The President Rafael Correa is imposing an extra tax on the wealthy citizens of Ecuador to help pay for the emergency relief fund. See a recent story by CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/21/deadly-quakes-continue-to-defy-prediction.html
The economy now is at a point of zero growth because of the low price of oil. The shrimp industry that used to thrive here was wiped out by a virus called the white spot syndrome. The effort to rebuild will take more than new roads!
Here is a list of a variety of organizations sent by Maria Teresa:
The United Nations Development Program
The Tropic Campaign for Solar Energy – for solar energy kits
The Waterbearers – for water filters
Thanks for keeping us posted here in the US of A – as news reports reflect the local situation – very chaotic.
Nik Millhouse at Hacienda Cusin and their sister inn Las Palmeras Inn
Maggie Reinier at Posada del Quinde,
Lorena Tapia in Quito and Nono Cloud Forest retreat,
Peter Joost at El Refugio de Intag Cloud Forest Retreat,
Maria Teresa Ponce at SachaJi Yoga Center
We are most grateful for your hospitality and friendship.
We wish the people affected by the event God Speed through their Recovery
Sending wishes to each of you for Happy Trails,
Peace,
Ramelle
by Court Rand, at Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental
posted here with permission from his father Bob Rand, Northampton, New Hampshire
A lot of people have asked how we are, what happened, etc. – so I will try to recount what I can here.
I was with my parents (who were visiting from New Hampshire), Sylvain, our mechanic Diego Ordoñez and his wife Nancy Rogel and their three kids. Enjoying the beach at Peter Stromberg and Maija Burglin Strombergs beautiful beach home on Canoa Beach (a brick house)…
We had just watched a beautiful sunset and Nancy and Diego just returned from the market with fresh fish and shrimp. We had been watching the kids and they followed their mother into the house when the quake struck. We were outside on the porch. It started slowly – just like a normal little quake that is not uncommon here. I said – “I think we ought to move outside” and just then it really started to shake We ran out into the sand and the kids and Nancy followed just seconds behind. What a relief. After the hard shaking lulled, the ground moved in waves for another 45 seconds. But we all ran to to the trucks with the immediate fear of an imminent Tsunami. We took both trucks and headed across the street to the dirt road that leads up the cliffs to where the para-gliders jump off – to the Shanti Lodge – but the road was blocked by a landslide and we didn’t get far. So we backed out and decided to head south around to the road towards the inland hamlet of Rio Canoa. But we didn’t get far, with the bridge just south of Canoa had buckled and we were very concerned about crossing it. We stopped and we heard calls for help from the house just there at the bridge. People came out to say that there were people trapped in there and needed help. I started down to the house to help and then realized I was just wearing a bathing and no shoes, didn’t have any flashlight or anything on me. There was broken glass all around. I looked down and then back up to tell the frantic person asking for my help that I would be back after putting on some shoes.
We got back to the house and we found our shoes and a little composure. I told Peter about the house that had fallen over and he said “that is Allen and Cathy’s house -lets go NOW!” I had just met Allen and Cathy the night before. We had sat out drinking beers and enjoying the Canoa life and got to know them . They just moved here from New Hampshire. So we got the shoes on and hurried back there. We arrived to find Cathy sprawled out in her blood on a surfboard and Allen was being carried out by two guys. He was in terrible pain – seemed to have a dislocated hip. Cathy was very lethargic and saying she couldn’t feel anything. She couldn’t feel her legs and was bleeding from her head. She needed immediate urgent medical attention.
Maija – who is trained as a nurse – was so calm and following perfect first aid protocol. She immobilized Cathy’s neck with my t-shirt. We secured her to the surfboard and carefully lifted her into the bed of the VW pickup. Then we lifted Allen into the truck as he screamed in pain. We had to sit him in the back seat. He was so brave. I could tell he was in excruciating pain but didn’t want to delay his wife getting to the hospital in any way so he bit his lip and settled into his seat.
We drove over the bridge that had buckled – slowly – carefully – not to shake Cathy as much as possible. We didn’t know where to go. We had checked the radio – there was nothing but music and commercials – and one station with the DJ saying there was an earthquake and that the first information coming in was that the epicenter was to the north, in Pedernales. So we decided we should try to head to Bahia de Caraquez – south about 15 miles. Bahia is on the other side of a big bay and a bridge that is about 1.5 miles long that was just completed in 2010. We hoped that the bridge was in tact. Its a big span….
We only got about a mile down the road and faced a huge landslide about 50 feet high. No chance of going over it. Sylvain turned the truck around and asked him to wait. I went out and found a break in the curb where we could possibly get down onto the beach below. It was blocked by a fence and big chain. And then seemingly out of nowhere a crowd formed around me and someone brought out a hammer and smashed through the lock on the chain and we tore the fence down by hand – a mad mob of desperate men all trying to bring people to the hospital. The fence was down in just a few seconds and we had the truck coming through the brush and trees and a steep descent in loose sand onto the beach. We were able to drive along the beach for a few miles until the Briceño river. We joined the road back towards Bahia. Passing through San Vincente we thrilled to see that the bridge over to Bahia de Caraquez was open.
We first tried the IESS hospital in Bahia – it was closed – looked destroyed, ransacked, a mess. No lights no life. Majia yells from the back of the truck “Go to Leonidas Plaza” so we head that way – trying to remember where all the speed bumps are (we hit an unpainted unmarked one a bit hard) and trying to get there as soon as possible – we didn’t know if it would be open. We get to the hospital and it is somewhat chaotic but there is a team there and they provide us with a stretcher and a neck brace. We carefully transfer Cathy to a bed that is set up in the parking lot of the hospital. There were concerns the hospital had too much structural damage so they set up a triage center outside. They got Cathy hooked up with an IV and we focused now on getting Allen out of the back seat. Again – he was in great pain. But we got them there and we were relived to see the hospital was functioning. There were lots of bloody people there, dazed and confused people, children screaming and crying and lots of people running around trying to attend to the injured and prioritizing who they needed to help. They immediately went to stitching Cathy’s face which was ripped up pretty bad. She was able to follow the fingers back and forth but I think her eyes were not completely dilating as they should. There was some concern to say the least.
We got Allen seated on a bed next to Cathy and I gave him a Valium which I had the presence of mind to shove in my pocket when I had been back to get my shoes. (In Canoa I usually buy Valium to help me sleep occasionally – they are easy to get in the farmacia there). We thought if his hip was dislocated this would help him get it back into the socket…
Once everything was underway and situated – a spray of drizzle started falling. The sky was clear – we could see the stars – so it seemed very strange that this spray was coming down. I looked around and couldn’t see a single cloud.
Then a rumor spread through the hospital parking lot that this was the ocean and a big wave was coming in. Everyone was talking about Tsunami and then they started grabbing their injured loved ones, pushing wheel chairs and in a panicked run started heading towards the hill behind the hospital. I didn’t know what to do – but weighing the option of whether I could do any more for Allen and Cathy and whether I should maybe just do the safe thing – if there was a Tsunami – I would not want to be there. We got in the truck and headed up the hill, piling people in the back of the truck and brought as many as we could to higher ground. But nothing came of it and we checked the radio and there was no talk of tsunami – so we headed back down.
Then it started to rain and Sylvain and I moved many patients and their beds from the open parking lot to an area that was covered with a thin tin roof. We made sure Cathy and Allen were together. Then with Majia in good control of the situation, we decided we should head back to Canoa to see if other people needed to be brought to the hospital.
Back in Canoa we found a ghost town. There was nobody there. Everyone had fled to the hills above in fear of a Tsunami. We decided to go to the church and see if there was anyone there that needed help. The nuns that greeted us told us there was a man that should see a doctor. They didn’t believe us at first when we told them the bridge to Bahia was open. We assured them that we could get him to the hospital and then we met Mike Fitzpatrick – a happy Canadian man in his 60’s who had his head wrapped in bandages and a face full of blood. He looked like something out of a horror film. There was blood all around his eyes and dripping down his chest. He had few puncture wounds
Mike told us he was on the third floor of one of the hotels in the center of town and that when the quake started someone told him to hide under a table and he did and was glad he did as everything came crashing down around him and he said he surfed down three floors of debris and found himself alive. He made his way to the church. Good Irish instinct!
We only made it about 3 blocks from the church with Mike in the back seat when we came across a truck that was using a rope to try to pull some debris out of a collapsed building. We stopped and with our truck and winch we said we could help. Everyone was very happy to see we had a very powerful winch (10,000 pound capacity) attached to the front of our truck.
I got out and found that there was a man inside this 6 floor hotel. The bottom two floors had collapsed. Inside the debris was a man and his wife who were laying in bed. His wife was killed instantly but he was alive next to her in the debris. A full column of iron rebar and concrete had crushed his leg. The twisted rebar had pierced through and hooked his calf like a fish hook. His full ankle and foot where under the column.
I reached in and saw the man and he was in terrible pain. I reached over and looked at the situation, feeling down the length of his leg to try to understand exactly how stuck he was. He was real stuck. The mattress and inner steel coils were all rapped around his leg. It was a total mess. It looked so hopeless.
But he asked me if I could get him out. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know. But if felt down and felt where his leg was. It looked almost hopeless but it was definitely something we could do. I told him I wouldn’t leave him until he was out. We are going to get you out.
The guys already working on him were led by Jorge who is in the red shirt in the photos. He was the one that was relentless and was constantly there and determined. We worked for hours together. Stopping occasionally to overcome our frustration and decide on a new tack. Remove this debris. We tried getting a few car jacks together to try to lift the column. We tried clearing the debris. Someone brought a generator and a tool that could cut through concrete and steel.
The tools were old and the generator kept cutting out. There wasn’t any gas for a while. Then someone went a got some out of an abandoned car stuck in rubble. Then we didnt have a disk to cut the metal. Someone found a place to get one in a workshop. Ecuadorians are very resourceful.
I kept checking on Mike. I asked him if he wanted to go the hospital. He said no. He said lets get this guy to the hospital too.
After working about 5 hours – most of the guys working left. They were tired. It was just Sylvain, Jorge and tow other guys working on this.
Another guy was there too. He said basically – hey we should probably leave him. We may not be able to pull him out without really damaging him and causing him to bleed out. It might be better to leave him until more help arrives. Jorge and I considered this and said “No” – this guy needs to get out of there.
Oh and while we were under this rubble working – there were several aftershocks – each time we had to get out of there as quick as possible with the fear of the whole building coming down on us. I am sure that was extremely frustrating to Santiago (the guy trapped under the concrete column).
Jorge and two other guys kept working for two more hours. With us operating the winch and clearing debris and finally at about 5 am we got the dead wife out of there.
Then finally at twilight we saw the blue and red lights of two police cars. Finally! There had been no police, no firemen, no army this whole time….
And the police came in and helped but Jorge was not stopping and directed the whole thing. and we finally had him out from under the column at about 6 am. His leg was full of concrete and absolutely chewed up. It was definitely going to have to be amputated.
We put a mattress and sheet in the back of the police car which raced off towards the hospital.
We then brought Mike to the hospital – having to drive down the beach and back to the hospital. He was immediately taken care of and his wounds were much worse than we had thought. We were amazed that he sat so patiently while we extracted Santiago from the hotel.
We got back to Canoa at about 10 am. I was exhausted and needed to sleep.
That’s about it for now. Sorry I didn’t take more pictures. It was not my focus…
I moved a desk out of my studio this weekend. It’s contents in full view were left in piles all over the place – begging to be put in order; old rolodex cards, art supplies, phone cords and batteries of all shapes and sizes, cd’s, boxes of disparate stationary, etc, etc. One move had changed everything. the room was unusable chaos.
It took me a morning to sort the “stuff” into piles – old flyers, neat postcards, sales slips from Chile, Ecuador, Peru, maps of the equator, some old photos, brochures and art magazines…Some things rearranged nicely, others could move to another bureau; some I could put away right here; some were easy to throw away; and the rest went into another box – find a box; find another box!!
By the time I looked up, my head was reeling from so many decisions; but my focus was quick to keep rearranging and resorting. En route to find a snack in the kitchen, I spied the half burned candles on the sideboard looking tired from the winter season. Chuck them out, clean them up, dust the shelves. Move in the daffodils, shuffle the pansy planters, sort sort sort. Wash the winter throw rug. Dust off the mud room boot rack. More and more. Oh no. There is the garage! Turn back. Turn back.
I looked up. A glance to the walls – aha! Move those old water color faded paintings. The heirlooms can rest a while in the quiet dark secluded cellar. Let’s find something new to put right there. It is supposed to be spring after all. Leave it blank. Very nice. Just look at the nails.
By afternoon the day had turned into one of review and revise; basically I had crafted a new view in my work space that filtered through the house. Not really a rearrange, but simply a reACT to the moving of the desk. That small difference caused one step to follow another onto the path of a better workspace, a new set of files, rediscovered opportunities right in my own dark drawers.
Yes, by coincidence or design, I am happy today because of yesterday. First, I took action. Then I watched and moved about the room. Then I moved again through the house. Natalie Goldberg would call this getting through “monkey mind”. Tal Ben Shahir would suggest I was coping with and acting on rather than avoiding my purpose. I guess he has had to clean out a desk or two.
Finding a New View in this case took one move of an old desk that became the impetus to transform the reality to a NEW place – where I have a NEW frame of mind. It took energy, focus, and open time. It is called FLOW. It takes a sense of patience. It takes one’s own art eye.
We all have one. Do you dare make a move?
Happy Spring!
PS: I am not going into the garage any time soon.
The Torrres, the Towers trek is one of the most popular…always people passing both ways. Can you see why? Most of the trail is fine, but at the top, it is all loose skree (sic) and a huge challenge. Slow slow slow is good. Can you see the edge of the tree line where the avalanches wipe out the whole side of the landscape.
These are the “domes” we sleep in at the Ecocamp. This is at dawn as the sun hits the Towers (yellow). The rooms are fine inside, but it is a duck and a crawl to enter and exit – after a long hike, my groans were audible!
We drink the water right out of the streams, it is glacial melt – delicious. The stone face on the side of the river is where the glacier scraped the rock not that long ago…hundreds and thousands of years ago, not millions! — at Torres del Paine National Park.
The Grey Glacier from the new Grey Ferry boat. The dirt on the ridges of the ice has blown onto the surface from the nearby hillsides. — at Glaciar Grey, Parque Nacional Torres del paine.
patterns — at Glaciar Grey, Parque Nacional Torres del paine.
Classic pix of the park from the road that brings us all here. — at Torres del Paine National Park.
Grey glacier drops right into the lake. — at Glaciar Grey, Parque Nacional Torres del paine.
The Grey Glacier in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. It is shrinking several meters per year. — at Glaciar Grey, Parque Nacional Torres del paine.
This is all at sea level – so altitude not an issue. Locals were complaining that it was too warm since the wind was not blowing as it usually does. The sun is incredibly hot while we looked at glaciers!!
MP for scale
A view of half of the French valley. The avalanches keep shifting the snow, sometimes imploding so there is no falling white stuff to see. They sound like the roar of a train going by – well – from down here.
Tomas, assistant guide, on trek back from Los Cuernos, The Horns, on a summer day in late February without wind – very unusual here.
The Grey Glacier in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. It is shrinking several meters per year.
More Hiking in the Chacabuco Valley near Cochrane!
This dog follows us from the trail head through the river plain, across the river and up the trail all day!
This is one of two suspension bridges built by the Tompkins’ conservation organization enabling access to this incredible east west valley. It is remarkably not windy on the day we hike.
Dog finds a way to cool off – resting here in the river for several minutes!
Patagonia Flat – it rolls for miles and miles – we go about 11 today.
He walked right beside us all the way – until some fast hikers passed us by and he took up with them. He was too (ahem) comfortable to come to say good bye!
Our friend is back at his campsite long before we are!
Above the Tomkins’ Lodge, behind the bluff is a series of lagoons….
Two condors fly in parallel formation above our heads when we get to their flat plateau – they have this breathtaking view of glacial mountains in all directions!
The thin white line that is across the ravine is a long bridge built by the Tomkins 5 miles into the parkland to enable crossing the river.
But here we are left to wade across. Luckily the water is low today. This dog decided to walk with us for the day!
Looking across the Chacabuco Valley. While less dramatic than the Torres del Paine, it is now completely absent of any farming, so the guanacos are thriving.
Sunshine at 4 pm February 29! on the other side of the world from “home”.
One high point of our travels was in the lake district of central Chile. We visit the stunning Hotel Antumalal, a Bauhaus hotel beautifully maintained over the last 75 years outside of Pucon, Chile. Propped on a hillside, the clean modern lines of the stark building bridge a rushing stream. Gardens are carefully maintained, whether they create a color trim along the stone paved driveways, line the grass paths or thrive in a cutting garden beside the large greenhouse . This is a destination our friend Janice remembers and she wants to be sure we revisit with her. (Well marked on the east/west road).
Without a reservation, staff do not hesitate to encourage us to walk about as a guest. The front entryway is a room of natural wood with a tree log crafted into a countertop. The adjacent sitting room overlooks the expansive Lago Villarrica with clear \ vistas of the snow capped cone of the Villarrica volcano (still smoking after the eruption a year ago!). Each of the interior sitting rooms are odd shaped spaces filled with furniture built to enhance the experience of a part of the natural (inside or outside?) environment. The lamps are made of tree branches, the walls are covered in huge pieces of local trees ( cipris, coigue and one called the monkey tree or the araucana). The rugs are cowhides – I think from Argentina. The arcing sofa is steel rods with woven rope that makes a geometric pattern. Simple, and in striking contrast to the rectangular window panes that frame the views of trees and mountains formations outside. Bauhaus!
The hotel was designed by Chilean architect Jorge Elton in the late 30’s for the Pollack’s, a Czech family, In the hallways, we glance at photographs of the family. They created this place on what was considered to be useless property as it was too steep for farming. They gave the place a Mapuche name. Antumalal means “corral in the sun”.
Only steps away from the patio, ibis are pecking on the lawn, and abundant bird life enjoy hillsides of luscious gardens. Lapwing. Carracarra. Swallows. And ducks in the lake below. A beach lies at the end of a steep pathway – I can see a couple enjoying their “privacy”!
The owner of the property is now in her 60’s. Her parents built this icon and her efforts to successfully maintain the 22 room hotel are in evidence. A spa was created five years ago. I promise myself I must return to stay.
These pictures are from the Hotel Antumalal website.
The meals here are reasonably priced and excellent! Service was impeccable!
Sunset over Lake Villarrica from the hotel restaurant.
And from my camera, too.
This huge valley is in a national park because of the generosity and the commitment by Doug and Kris Tomkins. They bought the property – the entire valley – and eventually donated the land back to the country of Chile. In addition, with help from volunteers, they removed all the aspects of farming. They tore down buildings, took apart fencing to let the land go back to “wild”. They also retrained farmers and families living here to work in other ways.
Here is a part of the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv-JXrSLsWE
Doug Tomkins passed away unexpectedly in a kayaking incident on a lake in Chile in December 2015. We see his resting place on the property by the Lodge that has only 6 rooms.
Resting ground for friends, animals, and Doug Tomkins.
His wife Kris Tomkins carries on with the enormous agenda they have put forward to inspire conservation of the world.
Written in 2013, below is a short biography of Tomkins, the John Muir of Patagonia:
Doug Tompkins is a longtime wilderness advocate, mountaineer, organic farmer, activist, and philanthropist. But his first career was in business. He founded The North Face outdoor gear retailer in the 1960s, and then cofounded Esprit clothing, retiring from that in 1990 to concentrate on conservation work.
In 1992, Tompkins founded the Foundation for Deep Ecology, a philanthropic effort devoted to root causes of environmental crises; soon after, he started the Conservation Land Trust and, with his wife Kris, Conservacion Patagonica, focused on creating large-scale protected natural areas in Chile and Argentina. Tompkins has also helped produce numerous campaign-related exhibit format books on topics ranging from industrial forestry, factory farming, coal mining, and global energy crises, among others.
A consistent principle that informs Tompkins activities is that the “present eco-social crisis demands a response—that individuals who recognize the great unraveling of natural and human communities across the globe have a responsibility to act to stop it.” Working to reverse the extinction crisis and build a more sane and sustainable culture requires both defensive and proactive strategies.
Tompkins’s earliest conservation activism sprang from his love for wilderness and experience as a mountaineer. Climbing trips around the globe provided a disturbing view of how wild nature everywhere was under assault by human activity. His ecological worldview deepened during the 1970s and 1980s through a self-guided immersion in ecological literature including the writings of Norwegian philosopher and mountaineer Arne Naess, father of the deep ecology movement. Tompkins has written, “that the influences of Arne Naess, John Muir, David Ehrenfeld, Paul Shepard, Henry David Thoreau, Aldo Leopold and many others put me so firmly on a ‘deep’ ecological path.”
By the late 1980s Tompkins saw that the consumer culture that he’d helped promote was a destructive manifestation of an industrial growth economy toxic to nature. He decided to devote his wealth to endow an environmental foundation with an activist orientation. The foundation has embodied the idea that strategic philanthropy can support innovative, biocentric activists tackling root causes—not merely symptoms—of ecological destruction; vigorous and uncompromising advocacy on behalf of wild nature.
Tomkins will be missed. His passion and commitment can be transferred to each of us who care to take it on.
I am deeply grateful for all that he and his wife Kris Tomkins have done to leave it open for me to experience. Being here showed me what I thought was not possible – that we can leave places alone – to exist in the wild.
The Lodge at Sunset (about 9:00 PM in early March!)
Feb 23
After a flight to Balmaceda airport, a rental truck, a night in Coyhaique, then an all day drive over many mountain passes, all dirt roads, about 9 hours…. we are here.
The last 9 kilometers off the Carratera Austral 7 is a relatively perfect dirt road without a sign through low rolling Piedmont (no trees really) it is 8:45 PM when we roll in.
The sun will set in another hour. The full moon will be up again. Orion and the Southern Cross and a couple of large planets burst into view. There will be so many more to see without the moon, they say here.
We are unplugged and local for the next 4 nights. We stay at the 2 year old lodge appointed with reused wood, tiles. It is warm oak furniture, window frames and rafters. Black and white photos by renowned artists are also framed in oak. The polished floors are shoeless as they are re-cycled and re-furnished as well. Every fixture is brushed chrome – think Restoration hardware. (Who may have been the decorator/designer).
Huge coffee table books are out-written by Doug Tomkins and others who are passionate about this landscape, this wild and slow growing part of the planet.
We will find new treks each day from here.
Tomorrow, we will NOT get back in the rental truck as we are beyond tired of the bumps and need a break!
The drive started by 8:30 AM. We have to pass Cerro Castillo before 2 when construction will close the road. We will be on pavement until there – about 90 Kms but dirt the rest of the way – 315kms it will be to get there.
The road turns to dirt, bump bump. The truck 6 speed copes well, but I hold the gear shift in place so it won’t bump into neutral. We pick up 2 hitch hikers in the paved section of the park. They choose to hop out just as the road turns to dirt, before the construction.
In Cerro Castillo, we take on 4 more hitchhikers – 2 girls and 2 guys who explain that they met down here and they go to the same Santiago university! Their weight makes for plenty of ballast on the wash board surfaces. They are so grateful for the ride -Thank you thank you times 4.
We stop to wait for construction delays 3 times today – at least 20 minutes each. The road work is impressive – inconvenient, but well organized. We see signs thanking drivers for having to the patience to build a better Chile – Mejor Chile! Is a frequent billboard. They are carving, blasting, cutting, scraping and hauling huge volumes of earth up and down the river banks through mountain ranges, lakes and steep, steep terrain. For 12 hours, I am focused on washboard rattles, odd stone clunks, shoulder drop offs, oncoming traffic and of course the well known sometimes visible pot hole.
Meanwhile the views are extraordinary. Ranges of unnamed glaciers, huge skies, variable rivers and ginormous lakes come and go. As explained in the guide book, there are no road side features except unmarked pull off gravel patches.
We plan to stop for sure where gas is available in Puerto Tranquillo – half way there – where we happily wait in line to fill up the tank. It is 15,000 pesos only as diesel is cheap here. The Carreterra road is full of kids lingering by small camping sheds. There is a marble cave to explore by boat that is an attraction on the huge lake General Carrera. Our hitchhikers burst out of the truck with a happy whoop to hug a whole new set of friends they did not expect to see. It is an impromptu summer break party! (The girls are going to the hostel, the guys are going camping they say). Another quick and well meaning thanks – and they are off!
We are soon looking in a different direction with a different expression.
Our front left tire is very low on the left, so we fill it up – checking inside the door for the tire pressure recommendation – looks like the same as the US. We balance all of them with more/less air. The back rear right is in question!
I pick up some food at a market around a corner – that is open at 3 pm during siesta – apples, bananas, and at another small house I find some fresh local bread. A third store has nothing we can use – packets of tang and cans of weird food. But they do have a big bag of fresh carrots and potatoes. The carrots look dirty, but could be tasty so I get those, too.
Driving out of town, a girl is alone and waving for a ride. OK, MP says. Then a guy comes up. OK we say. Only 2 because of the tire. The rest of them know they have to wait. (This system must take a long time because there aren’t nearly enough cars on the road that we see to pick them all up!)
Hale and Sebastian meet each other in the open back of our truck. She turns out to be from Turkey. She’s been on the road for 3 years. Sebastian is from Conception on break for 3 weeks. Two sweet souls we are to learn as we hop out during road delays.
The right rear tire goes very low somewhere along the way that I notice on a quick photo stop. We continue on with Hale’s urging as it “has a little more in it”. When she hears it flapping, about half an hour later, we really have to stop. Turns out that Sebastian has just learned how to change a tire just like this one two days ago! We pull out the jack and as instructed back at the rental car place at the airport, we/ Sebastian lowers the spare from the bottom of the chassis by cranking it down. In 15 minutes or so, the spare is on – but IT is LOW!! (I am fuming at Hertz under my breath).
We go slow, we push past the unmarked entrance to Valle Chacbuco to get the tires – now 2 of them- repaired in the next town of Cochrane that is 18 more Kms. Hale knows the way to the town square as she has been there before. This is where Sebastian can ask one of the locals where to fix the tire. (The gas station can’t do it). ((And Don’t go to the Neumatico place you saw coming into town – they are not good)) Sebastian’s new friend says “Follow me” which we do. A quick good bye to our helpful hitchhikers. He is in an old white truck. Another Thank goodness! The place is way off any pavement down another kilometer of dirt road to a large steel shed. Anther quick and heart felt Thank you to this guy who showed us how to get here.
Here we are – at Los Hermanos! A large tin shack of corrugated steel. It is beautiful. One brother does all the work. He nods, smiles, stops working on the car on the lift and takes tells his brother to get the spare tire off the car. He is in control! The tires are on and off the rim, flipped back and forth. This one is better than that. They are patched and popped back on the rims. The spare has a nail in it. The other tire has a slice on the side. He balances all the air – don’t drive with full air on the pot holes – not full is good here, he says. The bill is 10,000. Machismas gracias!!
We drive back to Valle Chacabuco, waiting again for a construction Pare sign to switch to Siga and finally turn in to the route to the valley. It is 8:30 PM The sun has another hour before it sets. We are coming for the first time to this place we have been getting to for 3 days…well maybe it is 4 by now.
It turns out to be worth the wait.
Aisen Province, Chile – Region XI
Trying to find the freeway from the back seat of the taxi en route to the airport!
Destination – Patagonia National Park in the Chacabuco Valley.
We fly from JFK overnight to Santiago, check in to a hotel near Center City for one night. This gives us enough time to catch up on sleep, find the Museo del Arte PreColombino to orient to the variety of ancient cultures through the geographically diverse narrow country. The weather is warm, dry at the height of summer. People of all ages walk in parks, across the Plaza del Armas and through the colorful Lasterria district where musicians play in the streets, book sellers have tables of their wares, and cafes line the streets – a lively community in a huge city. Thank you Santiago.
Refreshed after segments of sleep, partially adjusted to the 2 hour time change (earlier) we head back to the airport for a 4 hour flight to Balmaceda airport.
Lots of wind and stormy weather to fly through in these northern Patagonia plains.
We are going to rent a car – it is a camionetta, a small pick up truck to that will transport us the 9 hours to the Valle Chacabuco. (We learn that only the engine is covered by the insurance policy! so we ramp up the contract and change to a small pick-up truck. This little red truck has big tires! We take pix of each side, noting all sorts of dents and scrapes – the windshield has two cracks.)
The Carraterra Austral 7 – this is the newly “paved” part of the road. Services still to be added. The only gas station will be in Puerto Tranquillo 150 kms from Balmaceda Airport.
The road runs straight north/south – the Carrera Austral 7 that has been paved up here. The guide book says broken windows are as common here as parking tickets in NYC!
The red Nissan pick up comes with 53,000 KMs, a diesel engine with six forward gears. We have a 3 minute lesson on how to change a tire, where to call in case of an emergency (from 10 am til 6 pm) and a thin receipt that says we paid for the truck.
We head out of the airport in the wrong direction on the only road.
There is no sign until 100 yards where the road is blocked. We have to pull off the road to the Chilean Aduana. Well, customs? In each province? They take our PDI piece of paper (Police Department of Information – not investigation!). We have just crossed into Argentina! NO Hey! Turns out our passports are stamped again so we are legal, but they won’t give us the paper back.
We leave in time to move our truck out of the way of a huge 18 wheeler that is mighty interested in getting down the road. Reverse works. It is way off on the right side of the gear box. The rear view mirrors are terrific – and clearer than the windshield.
We are on the way – this time in the right direction.
You can’t get to Valle Chacabuco from the airport in one day, so we recommend doing what we did – go the other way – north to Coyhaique. It is an hour or 52 KMs – assuming you start off in the right direction!
The Coyhaique Hotel has a huge bed with terrific showers. Aisen Province has clear water from the tap. It is very quiet. They say others are staying here, but we don’t see them. Antlers, hides on the bed, photographs of Mapuches from days past with letters in longhand super imposed in double negative printing – frames of old weathered wood reused again. Nice. There is a young girl who welcomes us, a guy outside who seems to take care of everything. We are here. It is Sunday. The restaurant is closed, so they suggest we walk to the Dream. It is a gambling casino on the other side of the 6 – 7 block town. Buffet is not bad at all. Several people are dining there. They seem to be travelers, probably Chileans.
We drive through two regional parks today.
There is one mountain range after another that continue the whole 350 km way to Cochrane.
We stroll the early evening, summer time here of course, across the enormous Plaza del Armas in the center of Santiago. There is a breeze to cut the heat that can be impressive especially now. The Museo Historico is closed, but people are strolling in leisure with dogs, with a friend, with a kid or two on their bikes. Huge steel (?) plaques are imbedded in the sidewalk that depict the history of Chile. We stroll right over them!
A noisy zestful band of football players singing and hollaring across the whole plaza. One guy is waving a large blue and red flag in jubilation. Soon they are all calling out the windows on a city bus, hanging out of the back windows while the regular passengers sit politely in their seats in the front.
Michael and I sit for a minute, reviewing our map from the hotel – much easier to follow than the guide book. Another couple on the bench see us and point out Lasterria as a destination to walk through. The wife does not want to walk with us, but we think we can find it.
Nearly six blocks later thought lots of pedestrian traffic blocked with cars, we find the edge of Cerro Santa Lucia, a landmark of the city. We skirt the rim, though a climb would be lovely another day, and find the neighborhood of street vendors selling used books with classic titles (Herman Hess, Albuert Camu, Shakespeare, to.) and jewelry and an amplified violinist (MP can’t bear him) and lots of bars – the Cafe Patagonia, the Artisanal, etc.
We walk through the extensive park system along the “river” or cement city canal. We cross a wooden bridge by the university. An open air mall has lots of shoppers and restaurants. We pick the Belle Vista. At 8 pm we are practically the only ones dining – we are so early! Food is perfect. Fresh fish and Chilan Chardonnay 60,000 pesos!
It is a gentle walk home, always safe at 10 pm, always lots of pedestrians. The nH hotel is just off the main drag.
Over the last 8 hours, we have felt welcomed in Santiago.
The myth is about two enormous reptiles depicted on this carved stone star:
CaiCai is the ruler of the sea. Tran Tran is the ruler of the land. Like the Mapuche culture that had warring factions, these two were always angry with each other.
CaiCai believed the people scorned the sea’s riches so he smacked the water with his powerful tail and caused a flood.
TranTran saw the terrified people fleeing. He ordered the hills to rise up. This caused earthquakes and tidal waves that ravaged the land.
These are the two great forces in history – represented by the serpent and the lizard that continue their ongoing clash.
Well, we don’t have 36 hours here in Santiago – only this day and an overnight. We combine essential sleep, a long walk home from the museum through the Lasstarria neighborhood with book stalls and colorful musicians, cafes and lots of young people walking the streets.
We are two hours ahead of NYC where we left last night on the over night flight. A driver transferred us to the hotel in center city. We sleep off the jet lag through the morning. I’m so tired I promise myself I don’t have to do anything for a day. The system works. We recover in about 4 hours and are ready to go by 2.
It is a remarkable experience at the renowned and finally renovated Museo de’l Arte PreColombino. Closed the last two times we were here, the collection and presentation do not disappoint!
The exterior of this renovated court house is almost on the Plaza de Armas, but we still find the entrance hard to find. A classic courtyard houses a gift shop of beautiful (heavy) books and a cafe. We pay 10,000 pesos for both of us to enter – my first transaction this trip. I think the cashier is returning the money to me when he pays me back 1,000 peso bill! Ah a mere 0! The education begins. 9,000 is $13. Got it?
I download the museum app thru their wifi system. This will be a helpful resource, tho all the information is bi lingual and well written. At each station, there is a bar code that is quickly scanned by my phone (I’ve never done this before) and audio descriptions play , tho the recordings don’t seem to distract other visitors.
The stairs lead us by an enormous slate gray map of the Americas that stretches from Alaska up on the ceiling to Tierra del Fuego that touches the floor boards. The pre Colombian cultures from Mexico to Patagonia are marked with red dots, while red wires encircle the combined cultures of the Maya’s, the Aztek and the Incas, among others. The rivers are a lovely pattern of cut away slips in the slab. This huge relief is lit by tiny bulbs that make shadows on the wall and ceiling. The crisp edges seem to blur in the photo!
The sophisticated Mochica culture (that we visited about 3 years ago north of Lima in Chiclayo and Trujillo) is carefully described. The ceramics are excellent specimens- the best in the world are here – a stunning a double jug with a bird propped on one side could be filled with water on side. When the mouth was blown, the sound of the water inside could warble and whistle.
The lower floor is for Chilean objects. Here small mummies are on view and the process is described. There is even a pre natal skull!
The surfaces of the ceramic a could be polished or smooth or rough creating different characteristics – for instance representing the skies versus the human condition.
An enormous quipu from the Inka culture is here with the Chilean objects. They could record over 15,000 items including what type of item it was.
We finish our visit with huge Mapuche carved wooden statues that look a little like the stones of Rapa Nui, Easter Island.
The beautifully presented rooms are a salve for jet lag.
We end our visit with a crystal clear mineral water and I have a coffee – my first since long before we left home.
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